The landscape of cities has entered a new phase, with people working remotely from home and public transportation operating without passengers. As smart cities emerge as a future alternative capable of solving various urban problems—such as infrastructure, transportation, and the environment—through cutting-edge technology, countries around the world are embarking on the construction of smart cities.

Amidst this, the '2022 World Smart City Expo (WSCE2022)' was held, providing a venue to exchange the latest technologies and trends for realizing smart cities.

The 6th World Smart City Expo 2022 (WSCE2022), hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Science and ICT, will be held at KINTEX in Ilsan for three days from August 31 to September 2.

At this event, visitors can get a comprehensive overview of cutting-edge technologies across various fields, including smart city architecture and infrastructure, transportation, environment, and lifestyle and healthcare. Particularly eye-catching were the Smart Mobility Zone, where visitors could test-drive autonomous vehicles, and booths offering hands-on experiences such as VR, AR, and XR. Opportunities were also provided to network with relevant officials regarding implementation plans from domestic and international innovative companies, national pilot cities, and local governments.

On the day of the event, Incheon, Goyang, Gwangju, Gangneung, Daejeon, and others showcased the current status of technologies being promoted in their respective regions at the Smart City Challenge Hall in the COEX venue.

Upon entering the Goyang City booth while listening to the guidance messages from the docent robot Robocat, visitors can see various IoT devices and platforms installed for citizens. Goyang Special City smartly handles administrative tasks through the latest open-source-based integrated spatial information platform for public institutions.

Gangneung City announced that it is pursuing an integrated platform to improve mobility rights for citizens and tourists through an integrated MaaS platform, while Daejeon City stated that it aims to grow into an intelligent city that guarantees citizen safety through services such as parking sharing, electrical fire prevention services, and unmanned drones.

'Superbin's' Nefron is an AI circular resource recovery robot that returns 10 won to citizens when cans and plastic bottles are recycled, and demonstrates the daily life of a sustainable smart city by regenerating recycled products into resources. 'Byeolttareogaja' is a motion sensor-based comprehensive motorcycle safety management service provider centered in the Incheon region, contributing to reducing accidents by collecting rider driving data.

At the LH booth, visitors could explore the appearance of a smart city through interactive vertical movement content called "Provotal Movement," and experience UAM by installing an eVTOL simulator developed by Korea Aerospace University.

At the autonomous driving test drive booth, which attracted the attention of many visitors, Sonnet showcased a total solution for sustainable autonomous mobility. 'Raxi,' the autonomous robotaxi developed by Sonnet, can travel immediately simply by being told the desired location.

In addition, various cutting-edge technologies for smart cities were introduced. Pintel showcased an intelligent transportation system that collects and links real-time traffic information based on AI. IGIS, a company specializing in spatial information-based drone platforms, presented a service that converts photos taken by drones into 360-degree panoramas and allows users to view spatial data.

Bucheon City received a lot of attention from visitors by vividly recreating a smart city through the direct display of actual items, including Narca, a parking robot that assists with self-parking; Nations' smart safety booth for crime prevention; Lonpic's gym featuring a digital AI health trainer; K-Water's smart farm; and Accuris' AI noise neutralization system.

Meanwhile, to ensure not only public safety but also security within industrial networks, Handreamnet introduced SubGATE, the world's first security switch. SubGATE provides a secure network service environment by automatically detecting and blocking security threats originating from within. They stated that they selectively block malicious traffic at the edge or server level and configure a reliable network environment with a powerful MDS security engine.
(Photo by Reporter Kim Ye-ji)